North Korea urged to release captives after student’s death
The South’s president says Pyongyang bears ‘a heavy responsibility’ in the process leading to US detainee Otto Warmbier’s demise
Seoul — South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday that North Korea should swiftly return South Koreans and Americans detained in the reclusive nation and that it had "a heavy responsibility" in a US university student’s death. Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old student who had been held prisoner in North Korea for 17 months, died at a Cincinnati hospital on Monday just days after North Korea released him from captivity in a coma, his family said. Three other US citizens, who are ethnic Koreans, and six South Koreans remain in custody in North Korea. Warmbier was arrested while visiting as a tourist and accused of trying to steal an item bearing a propaganda slogan, according to North Korean media. Doctors caring for him last week described him as having extensive brain damage that left him in a state of "unresponsive wakefulness". In an interview with CBS News, Moon said that while "we cannot know for sure that North Korea killed Mr Warmbier ... I believe it is quite clear that...
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